Tooth and Claw

Tooth and Claw

A tale of contention over love and money―among dragons Jo Walton burst onto the fantasy scene with The King's Peace , acclaimed by writers as diverse as Poul Anderson, Robin Hobb, and Ken MacLeod. In 2002, she was voted the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. Now Walton returns with Tooth and Claw , a very different kind of fantasy story: the tale of a family dealing with the death of their father, of a son who goes to law for his inheritance, a son who agonizes over his father's deathbed confession, a daughter who falls in love, a daughter who becomes involved in the abolition movement, and a daughter sacrificing herself for her husband. Except that everyone in the story is a dragon, red in tooth and claw. Here is a world of politics and train stations, of churchmen and family retainers, of courtship and country houses...in which, on the death of an elder, family members gather to eat the body of the deceased. In which society's high-and-mighty members avail themselves of the privilege of killing and eating the weaker children, which they do with ceremony and relish, growing stronger thereby. You have never read a novel like Tooth and Claw. “Utterly sui generis…It's a rare book that leaves me wishing it were twice as long, but Tooth and Claw is one such.” ―The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction “A delight. On a basic level, Tooth and Claw works much the same way that Watership Down worked…Highly recommended for anyone who loved the books of Austen, or Heyer (or Laurie Colwin's more contemporary novels, for that matter), and wishes that someone was still writing social comedies that were just as sharp and just as pleasurable.” ―Kelly Link, author of Stranger Things Happen “Jo Walton writes with an authenticity that never loses heart.” ―Robin Hobb “The Pride and Prejudice of the dragon world... I love this sly, witty, fast-paced, brilliant little book.” ―Jane Yolen “Plot strands come together just as they should, with delightful triumphs, resolutions, revelations, and come-uppances.” ―Locus JO WALTON won the Best Novel Hugo and Nebula Awards for Among Others (2011) and the World Fantasy Award for Tooth and Claw (2003). She is the only writer other than Ursula K. Le Guin to win Best Novel in all three awards. Aside from her many other acclaimed novels, she has written extensively about SF and fantasy for Tor.com and other venues for over two decades. She lives in Montreal. Tooth and Claw By Jo Walton, Patrick Nielsen Hayden Tom Doherty Associates Copyright © 2003 Jo Walton All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7653-1951-7 Contents Cover, Title, Copyright Notice, Dedication, Thanks, and Notes, 1 The Death of Bon Agornin, 2 Some Far-Reaching Decisions, 3 The Sisters' Vow, 4 Leaving Agornin, 5 Exalt Benandi's Demesne, 6 Affairs in Irieth, 7 The Dinner Party, 8 The Writ Is Received, 9 The Picnic, 10 The Choice of Associates, 11 A Maiden's Love, 12 High Society, 13 Deepwinter at Benandi, 14 Coming to Irieth, 15 Affairs Draw Together, 16 Rewards and Weddings, Tor Books by Jo Walton, Copyright, CHAPTER 1 The Death of Bon Agornin 1. A CONFESSION Bon Agornin writhed on his deathbed, his wings beating as if he would fly to his new life in his old body. The doctors had shaken their heads and left, even his daughters had stopped telling him he was about to get well. He put his head down on the scant gold in his great draughty undercave, struggling to keep still and draw breath. He had only this little time left, to affect everything that was to come after. Perhaps it would be an hour, perhaps less. He would be glad to leave the pains of the flesh, but he wished he had not so much to regret. He groaned and shifted on the gold, and tried to feel as positive as possible about the events of his life. The Church taught that it was neither wings nor flame that gave one a fortunate rebirth, but rather innocence and calmness of spirit. He strove for that fortunate calm. It was hard to achieve. "What is wrong, Father?" asked his son Penn, approaching now that Bon was still and putting out a gentle claw to touch Bon's shoulder. Penn Agornin, or rather the Blessed Penn Agornin, for young Penn was already a parson, imagined he understood what troubled his father. He had attended many deathbeds in his professional capacity, and was glad to be here to help ease his father into death and to spare him the presence of a stranger at such a time. The local parson, Blessed Frelt, was far from being his father's friend. They had been at quiet feud for years, of a kind Penn thought quite unbecoming to a parson. "Calm yourself, Father," he said. "You have lived a good life. Indeed, it is hard to think of anyone who should have less to fret them on their deathbed." Penn admired his father greatly. "Beginning from very little more than a gentle name, you have grown to be seventy feet long, with wings and flame, a splendid establishment and the respect of all the distr